Germany Chancellor Slams US, Backs Crackdown
After the Trump administration condemned Germany's slide into tyranny and anti-democratic actions against the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the new German government under Friedrich Merz is now openly criticizing the U.S. for pointing out these tyrannical methods.
Realizing that there is serious potential for conflict between Washington and Berlin, Merz says he will speak to the U.S. government.
Merz criticized the voices from parts of the U.S. government that supported the AfD during the federal election campaign and recently criticized the party's classification as right-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
The current main point of contention is the powerful domestic spy agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and its decision to classify the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a 'confirmed right-wing extremist' party. Merz said the U.S.'s comments were 'absurd observations of the Federal Republic of Germany,' and that 'I've actually always had the feeling that America is able to distinguish very clearly between extremist parties and parties of the political center.'
The BfV operates with modern Stasi-like powers but wields a far greater technological arsenal. Under the new designation, the BfV can now legally surveil all AfD members without a warrant, including reading their emails and chats. It can also flood the AfD party with informants and take action against civil servants who are members of the party.
The fact that the AfD is the largest opposition party in the country and that there are now efforts underway to ban the party is causing serious alarm in the United States, which is calling the German government's path forward authoritarian and undemocratic. Most notably, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it 'tyranny in disguise.'
Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That's not democracy—it's tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment's deadly open border immigration policies… — Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 2, 2025
Perhaps the best analogy would be if the U.S. government suddenly declared the Democratic Party a 'confirmed extremist' party because it promotes open borders, and under Biden, effectively brought millions of more illegal migrants into the country. Then, a Republican-appointed spy chief surveilled all members of the Democratic Party without a warrant, was able to send informants into the party, and could fire teachers, judges, and police officers who were members of the party.
If such a scenario occurred, the liberal EU and mainstream press would be the first ones to scream about 'tyranny' and a new 'authoritarian' reality in the United States, with Germany at the top of the list.
Merz, on the other hand, seems dismissive of the U.S. critiques. He said he will speak with Donald Trump and establish contacts with the White House, but Merz may be in store for a chilly reception.
In regard to Trump, Merz said: 'We don't know each other personally yet.'
However, he said at the end of June, he will meet with Trump at the NATO summit in The Hague and 'perhaps even sooner.' He said they 'talk openly with each other.'
'As Europeans, we have something to offer; together we are even bigger than the United States of America,' said Merz.
'We can do something, we are united, largely anyway. That will be my message to the American government.'
'I did not interfere in the American election campaign and did not take sides unilaterally for one party or the other,' said Merz.
However, democratic backsliding in Germany is a grave concern for the entire world, and there are fears that a ban of the AfD could come sooner than later. In such a scenario, millions of voters would be denied their democratic rights.
Not everyone in the CDU, or its sister party, the Christian Socialist (CSU), is on the same page though.
Also read: Only 1 In 8 Afghan Refugees Entering Germany Was Properly Screened
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